Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here. All of these images (including "derivative works") are protected by copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be sold, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial purposes without permission.

Preparations for the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson in 1913. "Inaugural stands. Court of Honor before White House." Building at the left is the Treasury at 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. Harris & Ewing. View full size.

February 2, 1924. "Home Sweet Home being moved to its permanent location, passing the south grounds of the White House. The building is to be used as a headquarters for the Girl Scouts of America." After eight months in Sherman Square the building, a "model American home" put up by the National Federation of Women's Clubs, was moved ("by hefty mules," said the Washington Post) to new digs at 18th Street and New York Avenue. The "snug little house" (weight 150 tons) was a replica of the Long Island residence of lyricist John Howard Payne, who 100 years earlier had written "Home Sweet Home." View full size.

February 27, 1929. Washington, D.C. "Testing installation for radio broadcast of the Inauguration." On the eve of the Great Depression, a sound check for the presidency of Herbert Hoover. National Photo Co. View full size.

1916. Washington, D.C. "Post Office Department, opening machine." If you have sharp eyes and don't mind a little sleuthing, there is an interesting story to be gleaned here. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo archive featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1960s. (Available as fine-art prints from the Shorpy Archive.) The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.